Senator Lankford Introduces Former Chief of Staff Rear Admiral (Ret) Greg Slavonic at Nomination Hearing

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WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today introduced his former Chief of Staff Greg Slavonic during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Slavonic was nominated last year to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Slavonic is a native Oklahoman who retired from the US Navy after a 34-year career, where he originally enlisted as a Seaman Recruit and, after repeatedly distinguishing himself, was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral.

Prior to Slavonic’s role in Lankford’s office, he was a senior leader at the Computer Sciences Corporation, where he planned and executed several nationwide US Navy community outreach engagements. He also served as Executive Director of the Jim Thorpe Association; and as President of Flagbridge Strategic Communications, a consulting company focused on strategic communications and leadership. During his Navy career, he held four command assignments, served in combat deployments to Vietnam, Operation Desert Shield/Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and was awarded numerous decorations including the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Presidential Unit Citation, and Combat Action Ribbon. Mr. Slavonic earned a BS from Oklahoma State University and M.Ed. from the University of Central Oklahoma, where he was recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Award.

Excerpt: 

(0:15-1:57) Senator Lankford: Senator Inhofe, thank you, for that and for allowing me to be able to step in for just a moment. I will be brief, but I wanted to be able to introduce to this committee as well Greg Slavonic. Greg is someone that I not only know but I know extremely well. He’s been my chief of staff for the last three years that I have been here in the Senate. When I transition from the House serving four years in the House to then serving in the Senate, we started looking for a chief of staff that could help us in this process. I found Greg Slavonic…without his time being well-used (audible laugh). Greg Slavonic started as a Seamen recruit in 1971 and advanced after 30-plus years in the Navy all the way to a Rear Admiral. He has served both active duty and reserves. He has been a solid person to serve in multiple different theaters and you have his list of all of his different medals and ribbons, but he has been a solid leader for us and our state and for the United States in the Navy for all those years. When I reached out to him, he was unofficially retired and he working for multiple different media outlets and other places. I reached out to him and asked him to step back out and serve his country again. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that his country is asking him to serve in this role as well. He would be a solid leader for the Navy. He is someone who brings a wealth of knowledge for both active duty and reserves and that is a great asset to be able to have somebody who has a good perspective on both those areas, and after decades of service to our nation, he is well-suited for this task. So, he is not only a friend, but I think he will be a solid for our country and the Pentagon as well. So thank you for allowing me to give a brief introduction of him and my overwhelming support for him. 

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